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The Effect of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program on Childhood Obesity
Author(s) -
Qian Yiwei,
Nayga Rodolfo M.,
Thomsen Michael R.,
Rouse Heather L.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
applied economic perspectives and policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.4
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 2040-5804
pISSN - 2040-5790
DOI - 10.1093/aepp/ppv017
Subject(s) - childhood obesity , obesity , matching (statistics) , control (management) , environmental health , propensity score matching , supplemental nutrition assistance program , significant difference , psychology , medicine , medical education , computer science , geography , agriculture , overweight , archaeology , pathology , food security , food insecurity , artificial intelligence
Abstract This paper investigates how the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP), a nutrition assistance program that provides funding for the distribution of free fresh fruits and vegetables to students in participating schools, affects childhood obesity using a panel data set of Arkansas public schoolchildren with two different approaches. First, we combine matching methodology and difference‐in‐differences (DID) analysis. Second, we use the synthetic control method to compare each FFVP participating school to a similar, albeit synthetic, control school. Both analyses show that FFVP program causes an economically meaningful reduction in the obesity outcome of participating children.